YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM: HOW IS THE BATTLE FOUGHT?
So antigens are the enemy, they challenge our immunity, and the immune system fights back. How?
One method of attack is for certain immune cells to “eat” the antigen. Another is to cut a hole in the surface of the bacteria’s cell. This destroys the bacteria by allowing water, sodium and other substances to leak in and out of the cell, upsetting its homeostasis (“steady state”). Poison can be used to kill the antigen. Or a cover can be slapped over that part of the antigen which does the damage (toxic site).
Some of the immune cells are born knowing how to locate and destroy antigens. Other parts of the immune system must wait until they receive specific instructions, telling them what the antigen looks like.
The actual battle is fought by various cells and proteins. The brunt of the battle falls on the white blood cells, which we call leucocytes. (“Leuco” refers to the color white and “cytes” to the cells.)
Using a video screen hooked up to a microscope, I often show my patients what a drop of their blood looks like. There are lots of circular red blood cells: 5,200,000 per cubic millimeter in normal men, give or take 300,000. (For women the figure is 4,700,000, plus or minus 300,000.) Far less numerous are the white blood cells: only about 7,000 in a cubic millimeter of normal adult blood.
There are different kinds of white blood cells, each with its own name, size, shape and function:
Neutrophils (leucocytes/phagocytes) Monocyte/Macrophages (leucocytes/phagocytes) Eosinophils (leucocytes/phagocytes) Basophils (leucocytes) Lymphocytes (leucocytes) T-cells (lymphocytes)
Natural Killer Cells (NKs)
Helper Cells (T4s)
Suppressor Cells (T8s) B-cells (lymphocytes)
White blood cells aren’t the only immune soliders. The complement system, immunoglobulins, interferon and interleukin, which I’ll discuss later, are also important parts of your defense network.
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